COLUMBUS, Ohio — A neighborhood bar at the center of a Columbus nuisance lawsuit is now up for sale. A “for sale” sign now hangs in the front window of Jack’s Corner Pub.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein filed the lawsuit against the pub and owner Roy Walls in late August following the July shooting death of 23-year-old Nasier Reid in front of the bar.
"They've been put through the ringer. They've dealt with the gun violence, the stabbing, the level of violence that is unnecessary,” said Klein.
People living in the area told 10TV that they’re tired of the drama around the bar. Some said it was a failure of bar management to control what was going on and others said it was a policing problem in the neighborhood.
The bar has been closed since the lawsuit was filed; it’s an agreement with the city attorney’s office.
With the bar up for sale, Klein said that doesn’t really affect the lawsuit. However if it is officially declared a nuisance property, that designation will carry with the property through the sale to the new owner.
"Whoever buys this property will inherit the nuisance label. The only way that can be released is if I release it as the city attorney in conjunction and with approval from the judge,” said Klein.
Klein said it isn’t just Jack’s Corner Pub his office is focused on. He and other staffers have their eyes on other businesses in the Columbus area that are problem properties with issues of violence and crime.
Klein said, if the bar does sell, he doesn’t want it to become another bar with the same problems.
“I would be very hesitant for it to continue to operate as a bar. We will see what opportunities and what buyer's come their way. We'll have a lot of influence of who that next buyer is and I wanted to be mindful of what the community has already been through,” he said.
The city attorney’s office could stand in the way of the liquor license for a new bar there. Each business owner is required to apply for a new permit with the city or transfer the old one. The office could file a renewal objection to the license if the owner seeks to transfer the license currently in use.
The lawsuit has a hearing in court in mid-October. It’s only after that decision that any future of the bar is affected.